. >> early-august, southern california - the hills outside los angeles are on fire. >> california's governor has declared a state of emergency. we've just arrived on the scene. the situation is critical. >> the entire mountainside is smoldering. this thick acrid smoke smell in the air and we're following this strike team now right into the top of the mountain to where the fire line begins. >> for this blaze, the combined might of the firefighting forces of california is on full display. in just 24 hours, the costs have already run into the millions. >> it's been a busy season. it started really early for us we had pretty significant fires in may which is pretty rare. it just seems like a lot of fires are burning. as far as the outlook for this season. it's going to be a busy one. >> these are serial conflagrations now, and they're magnifying themselves, and the costs are enormous. >> costs like this sprawling "fire camp" that's emerged overnight to support the thousands of personnel deployed. you think of how much money they spend in one of these camps. there's a lot of people here. there's